FALL RIVER — He hadn’t even opened the doors to his new business when Seth Hockert-Lotz got a call from a politician, asking for a favor.

Former Mayor Carlton Viveiros was on the phone, with a request.

“He asked me to get involved in the community,” Hockert-Lotz said. “He told me it would be good for me to give help when it was needed.

“It really was a great introduction to the town.”

And Hockert-Lotz, the owner of Domino’s Pizza, 407 S. Main St., makes it clear he took that advice to heart.

“There are a lot of people in Fall River who are really generous, but Seth is one of the first to come to mind,” said Major Butch Deming of the Salvation Army, Fall River Corp. “He provides pizza for our after school program every Thursday. We get a delivery of 15 pizzas every week.

“Whatever we do, he is there to help. Seth, Curt Nelson and Jason Rua, BayCoast Bank, all of them are ready to step up and help. And we get a lot of volunteer help from the police department, the fire department, the Rotary.

“These are tough times, but there are people who help us get through.”

What is surprising, Hockert-Lotz said, is how many people are involved in helping get things done in the city.

“There are so many people in the city who do things quietly, behind the scenes,” he said. “You meet them and then you find out from others what they do. It really inspires you.”

But there is a network, Hockert-Lotz learned. After his conversation with Viveiros, he began donating pizzas and gift certificates to groups he supported. He began getting calls to thank him, but not from the people he expected. Robert and James Karam, two of the biggest business operators in town, called him. Bank presidents. The mayor.

He grew up in Burlington, Vt., watching Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream grow, so he understood the dynamics of a small town and the effect one company can have, Hockert-Lotz said.

“Fall River is blessed with a lot of people who are willing to get involved,” he said. “It made me determined to do my part.”

Todd Blount, the president of Blount Fine Foods, said he also got plugged into the circle of those ready to help when his company located its production plant in Fall River.

Blount is well known now to people like the Rev. Donald Mier of the First Baptist Church who helps organize the city’s overflow shelters for the homeless and works with soup kitchens and food pantries run by churches in the city. Mark Sullivan of Citizens for Citizens, which serves residents in Taunton and Fall River, said Blount is also someone organizations in the city can count on.

Page 2 of 3 - The willingness to help starts inside the company’s production plant, Blount said.

“Our employees have a real sense of pride in Fall River,” Blount said. “So we are really committed to giving to Fall River. Giving food is always our first choice. It really is core to our mission, to who we are.”

In the past year, Blount Fine Foods donated $250,000 in prepared soups and food, mostly going to local soup kitchens and food pantries but also to churches holding spaghetti dinners and scout troops holding banquets. The Boys and Girls Club and Charlton Memorial Hospital get regular donations.

The company also made $120,000 in monetary donations.

“It is not easy,” Blount said. “Everything we give is out of our muscle. Money we give away is money we don’t spend on equipment and growth.

“But we do it to honor our employees, past and present. Plus, Fall River has been good to us. This is a way to give back.”

Curt Nelson of Nelson Insurance and Financial Services said he knew, as a young man, that he wanted to give to the community. He also knew his contribution would have to be time, not money.

“I give what I can afford,” he said. “But I’m a middle-income guy with a mortgage and a kid in college.”

When he started, he looked for a guide. He found the late Jim Haskins, who ran a company selling billboard advertising.

“Basically, I let Jim tell me what to do,” Nelson said. “He was the guy to ask because he did it all and he knew all the answers.”